Reference Guide

1197
Improving performance with digital audio
Improving audio performance
came with your sound card. You should also check the web page www.cakewalk.com/Support/
Docs/sound cardTips.html to see if any information is available there regarding configuration of
your particular sound card in Cakewalk. When in doubt, leave these settings disabled.
(These settings are only relevant when working with sound cards at >16 bits-per-sample. You
can ignore them when operating at normal 16-bit depth.)
• Using 24-bit depth and/or high sampling rate can be costly:
While using 24-bit audio can improve the sound quality of your recordings, there are some
important drawbacks to keep in mind. Projects stored at 24-bit depth will require 50% more disk
space than those stored at 16-bits; if you have a large number of audio tracks (and keep in mind
that stereo tracks require twice as much data as mono tracks!), your audio project file can grow
very large and use up lots of disk space. Also note that recording, playing, and processing 24-bit
data utilizes more CPU resources than working with 16-bit data. This means that for a given
computer configuration, you will be able to record/play/process a smaller number of total
simultaneous tracks, and use a smaller number of simultaneous real-time effects, in a 24-bit
project than you would be able to in a 16-bit project. This is also true when working at higher
sampling rates (i.e., a 24-bit/96khz project requires substantially more computing resources than
a corresponding 16-bit/44.1khz project). Depending on the size of your project and the
configuration of your computer (CPU, RAM, disk), you may need to reconsider whether working
at the higher bit-depth/sampling rate is justified or even possible.
Some plug-ins do not function well at a 96 kHz sampling rate.
Using an audio bit depth of 24 can enhance the performance of some plug-ins, but raising the
sampling rate to 96 kHz does not offer much improvement, and can cause some plug-ins to add
unintended artifacts to the sound. Using a 24-bit, 44.1 kHz setup for your audio provides plenty of
enhanced performance for plug-ins that can take advantage of it, without risking the problems that
96 kHz audio causes with some plug-ins.
It’s also worth noting that not all audio projects benefit equally from the use of higher bit-depth/
sampling rates. Most professional sound engineers will tell you that 24-bit, higher-sampling-rate
audio is most beneficial when working with music that focuses on natural acoustic instruments and/
or vocals recorded with very high-quality microphones. The benefits of 24-bit/high-sampling-rate
recording are less audible when working with highly synthetic or highly compressed program
material, often found in contemporary popular music. You must make your own judgement about
whether the benefits of higher-capacity audio justify the extra demands it places on your computer.
Dropouts and other audio problems
If your SONAR application suddenly stops producing audio while in the midst of recording or
playback, you've very likely experienced a "dropout." Sometimes instead of a dropout, you may
experience a "stutter" during playback (a small section of audio repeats itself once or twice before
normal playback resumes). Or, you may occasionally experience a "glitch" or "pop" during audio
playback (a brief interruption or clicking noise is heard, but audio playback then continues normally
Note: Red Book Audio CDs are still 16-bit (44.1 sampling rate), so if your goal is to burn a CD,
you will have to mix down to 16-bit.